Game apps for iOS pummeled Android game apps when it came to revenue for the fourth quarter, but Android is growing quickly.

According to App Annie's Index, iOS games earned 3.5 times the revenue of Android games in Q4 2012. The iOS App Store increased its overall revenue by 20 percent from Q3 to Q4 2012 while the Google Play store doubled its app revenue in the same time period. However, iOS still raked in more cash.

quote: Samsung shipped more than 60 million smartphones, including the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II

Two things to note about these figures. First is that it says "shipped", not "sold" (Apple always lists actual units sold), and the other is that it doesn't individually break down the numbers of GS3 and GN2 devices sold. That 60 million figure includes low end devices as well as high end ones like the GS3 and GN2.

To be clear, we don't know what percentage of 60 million Samsungs smartphone sales are in the high end category that "get used". We do know that 100% of the 47 million iPhones sold are in that category.

Taking individual sales figures into account, the prior iPhone 4S outsold the GS2, GS3, and GN2 combined. The 4S crossed 30 million units sold in half the time the GS3 did. The iPhone 5 outsold what the 4S did in the same respective 2011 quarter by 40%.

The Galaxy serious is very popular, I'm not arguing that, but again, low end sales are being lumped in with high end sales and it paints a picture that is very different from practical usage metrics (internet usage, online ad revenue, app downloads, developer profits).

If there are so many high end Android devices out there, why is Google making so much more mobile revenue from a competing platform? Why does iOS make up the majority of mobile internet traffic? I don't believe that people with a GS3 or Droid DNA don't go online with them or use apps, of course they do.

If this ratio of high:low end Android devices continues, we'll need to see over a doubling in total Android marketshare for its metrics to match up, and as it stands the low end in Android is absolutely exploding compared to everything else. Perhaps it will take low end devices becoming more capable, but that will take several years as hardware starts to plateau and get much cheaper.

lol Sigh, I give up. Okay just whatever. I cannot go through this two days in a row. Just massage the numbers any way you need in order to make your point.

Last time I checked even mid ranged phones have a browser and can run Google apps. But nope, ONLY the highest end models count! Why? Because it's the argument that allows you to desperately hold onto this obsession.

Why do you even care so much? Seriously you and Tony MUST have better things to do, right?

No, its just misleading when people talk up Android marketshare but such a large amount comes from low end devices that don't get used the same way that a GS3 would. Inventing sales figures for other devices when official sales numbers show the opposite is also weird..

But if you want to brag about giveaway featurephones running Android, go ahead.

And to be clear, obviously the GS3 is selling tons, it is by far the most popular Android device. Its just a lower number compared to other devices, but who cares? This isn't a contest.

For me the only real importance of higher numbers is getting third party support. Even if Windows had a quarter of its current marketshare I'd still be on it as long as it has the game support it does. Nothing else really matters to me.

Its a concrete statistic that is largely made up of extremely low end devices. The high end is a tiny fraction of the Android userbase, official sales numbers and usage statistic back that up.

When Samsung sells 60 million phones in a quarter, devices like the GS3 and GN2 are just a fraction of that total figure. A single old iPhone model outsold all flagship Samsung devices combined in the same time frame, but it is a lower number when taking all of the cheap phones into account. When people say "omg, Apple is screwed" when they see that higher number, it is based on the assumption that Samsung is moving nothing but high end devices since that's all that Apple sells. That isn't the case, in less than a quarter the mobile traffic share of the iPhone 5 doubled that of the GS3.

When people wonder why Android is such a poorly supported and less profitable platform by comparison (even for Google), breaking down what Android sales mean should be taken into account.

I don't "mind" the statistic in the slightest, but bragging about how Android sells so much is like bragging about how well netbooks sold. I'm a PC gamer and I never gave a crap about how well netbooks sold, and I suspect most people in tech forums only really care about the high end as well.

quote: If there are so many high end Android devices out there, why is Google making so much more mobile revenue from a competing platform?

Oh and isn't it obvious? The iPad. That's probably why.

I can't find any breakdown device wise. It's simply Android vs iOS. So unless I'm missing something, it probably has nothing to do with smartphones at all. Nobody can deny the iPad is the most popular tablet.

Again, not mad, but when I see you and Tony making insane conclusions like "Android users don't really USE their devices"...it's just kind of fanboish and inflammatory. Or ignorant, take your pic. And no that wasn't meant as an insult.

There are sales figures out there for phones sold as well. The iPhone 4S sold 30 million units in two months, less time than it took the GS3 to do the same. The GS3 outsold the iPhone the quarter before the iPhone 5 came out, 18 million against 16 million, but overall it sold fewer units while the iPhone 5 is selling even faster than the 4S. High sales can easily be inferred.

Using the GS3, a single device, is limited data but its still useful given how much more popular it is than other high end devices by HTC, Motorola, LG, etc, plus it is a high end device, not a low end featurephone running 2.x that isn't really used as much for applications or internet.

quote: As a result, across its U.S. and Canadian network, 17 percent of Web traffic is coming from Samsung smartphones, 46 percent is coming from iPhones, and 37 percent is coming from other smartphones.

Chitika last week said it was impressed by the speed with which iPhone 5 traffic topped that of the Galaxy S III. It hit that milestone after only 18 days on the market, whereas the Galaxy S III has been on the market for several months.

Numbers for last quarter haven't been released (they have for the iPad, which makes up 80% of tablet web traffic), but I expect that the gap is even higher given how well the iPhone 5 has sold since its release.

Also note that there are many more iPhone 4S out there, more than the GS3, and that the iPhone 5 is selling even faster than the 4S did. How much more data do you guys need to see that much of Android's expansion hasn't been in the high end?

Why are you so desperate to prove the 5 to 1 gap is low end? It never fails, you always pick one point and drive it into the ground and make the thread about your issue.

FFS, we KNOW the majority is low end, but Android is growing like mad on the high end too. Your arguments are always behind, and we are talking ahead. The GS3 alone outsold the 4S in one quarter last year, and that is just one phone out of many, and by your own insistance, inferior phones, and that was LAST year. Again,(again [again]) look at the latest crop of 1080p superphones and extrapolate what next year will look like... Here is some help. With a crappy OS not even suitable (to me) for a low end device it outsold 2.5 to 1 in 2011. With comparable OS and a few good high end devices it outsold IOS by 5 to 1 in 2012. Now, look at the buttload of 1080 superphones all runnning JB and think what is going to happen this year. Especially with (like it or not) the public perception that Apple is no longer the best thing going on in the smartphone world.

Now moving on and back to topic. It is an inevitability, the Play store will out-earn the apps store. If not by the end of this year like some independant companies predict, then in 2014. It could even be sooner, well have to see how this year goes, but it will happen. Sheer volume proves it will happen.

This might be the first time you've explicitly stated that in a post. All I hear around here is how the GS3 has outsold the iPhone.

quote: The GS3 alone outsold the 4S in one quarter last year

Yes, and the 4S in one year outsold the GS2/GS3/GN2 combined. The 4S also crossed 30 million units sold in half the time the GS3 did. What's your point? Outselling the 4S by about a million units the quarter before the iPhone 5 refresh only makes sense.

quote: and that is just one phone out of many

Yes it is. It is a limited data point but at the same time the GS3 outsells other high end Android devices by a good margin. It is worth talking about for that reason.

quote: With comparable OS and a few good high end devices it outsold IOS by 5 to 1 in 2012.

Again, on the back of low end phones. Keep mentioning the ratio and I'll keep mentioning how growth in low end Android devices is disproportionately higher than that of the high end.

Forget how many more iPhones have already sold, the iPhone 5 in less than a quarter doubled the internet usage share of the GS3.

If you want to ignore hard internet traffic, download metrics, how Google's mobile revenue from iOS is over double that from Android, fine, the GS3/Droid DNA/GN2 are selling amazingly well, people just don't like using them. I can't think of any other excuses to explain it.

quote: Now moving on and back to topic. It is an inevitability, the Play store will out-earn the apps store. If not by the end of this year like some independant companies predict, then in 2014. It could even be sooner, well have to see how this year goes, but it will happen. Sheer volume proves it will happen.

We'll see, it can certainly happen. It would require the adoption of high end Android devices to increase at a much faster rate than they are right now. Right now the growth of iPhone sales continues to outpace that of high end Android devices. Again, we'll see, it can absolutely happen.

Jesus man....you've been on fire lately. And I don't mean in a good way. Seriously, you're going into the Tony Zone. I mean all these links, the massaged numbers, the desperation to link profitability with superiority.

Are you an Apple employee or something?

quote: How much more data do you guys need to see that much of Android's expansion hasn't been in the high end?

Why does it matter? I don't understand. Why this obsession with high end, or low end, or profits?

quote: Also note that there are many more iPhone 4S out there, more than the GS3

So

Fucking

What???

Seriously, so what? I don't understand why this matters to you so much, even if it's true. That is just ONE Android halo phone. ONE!

The hypocrisy you're displaying is amazing. You use that stupid Justin Bieber analogy on me, then rant about how many more iPhone's there are. I thought popular wasn't necessarily good Takin? Nope only when we bring up market share, THEN it's bad. Then we get Justin Bieber.

You slammed me for choosing Lian Li in my PC builds (headscratcher). Much like Apple, Lian Li does NOT do "low end" budget anything. And they make profit margins that make other case manufacturers wake up at night screaming over. So what's with the hypocrisy?

Then you bring up some fucking $50 case that, sure, has some good qualities. But is NO Lian Li case. Isn't that the same "race to the bottom" mentality you'll bash Google for and Android supporters?

It's like you have no concrete beliefs or center. I'm honestly not trying to insult you, but it seems like based on poster and product topic, you'll completely change you ideals and say whatever it takes to exalt Apple and flame any opposition.

I slammed Lian Li cases because they aren't particularly well made for products in their price range, not compared to a $200 case by companies like Corsair or Silverstone. I probably shouldn't have even brought up the cheaper cases, but it was to make a point that you can also very easily find a better product for less.

My beliefs are totally consistent, I like things that are well made. Price is a secondary concern. Oftentimes I have to pay more for something better, but sometimes I don't. It's called being informed, it isn't a black and white case of more expensive always being the best option.

"Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be." -- Steve Ballmer